Ashes and Salt
by Aroda
Summary: Caught in the middle of the swell of darkness, two lovers of ambiguous descent have to fight their nature in order to save Middle earth from themselves, and each other.
1. Prologue

Well hi there! And thanks for taking interest in my story, first off. Second off, this is my prologue, so it's sort of short and cutesy. You can expect a bit more grown up things in the later chapters due to... well... everyone is grown up. This is my first time posting something up here on the site, so let me know how I am doing, how you like it, or how much you don't, any spelling errors and stuff. I'm generally pretty good about it though. Anyways, enjoy.

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**Ashes and Salt**

Aroda

**Prologue**

An old woman was walking through the trees of the great forest that was nearest to her home. The woman was old, yes, but she did not have that appearance. In fact, she looked to be of a young maiden of fourteen or sixteen, young, but she held herself in a regal manner. She did not have the appearance of an elf, or any other being with a particularly long life span. In fact, she looked to be human, by all standards. And all knew that, even the longest living of humans, could not outlive two hundred and fifty years, and one with such a fair face as hers could not be over thirty. Plenty of life still in her. Or, so gathered the dark shadowy being that had been following her for several leagues now.

Despite the fact that she seemed to walk with a purpose, she was, from what he could tell... completely lost. They had passed by the same tree several times already, though she took a different path to get to it each time, all leading her back here. Sometimes, the forest would do this, however, lead people around in circles, until they died. It was not the friendliest or most welcoming of forests, and only seemed hospitable to beings that matched these traits. The young woman was getting more and more flustered now, or, frustrated, and tired. She had been walking a long time, and a girl with such fair skin as hers could not be used to such laborious activity. Still, she had lasted longer than the creature thought she would. A healthy meal she would make. So full of life indeed. The other creatures of the forest would have grabbed her by now, but they stayed away. She had already been claimed by him, and this was his territory, for the day, at least.

She sat down alongside a tree with roots that were slightly out of the ground, making a good makeshift chair for her. She seemed exhausted at last, and lay her head at the side of the trunk, breathing harshly. Her chest moved up and down, up and down, straining the shirt she had filled with her bosom at every inhale. And so he began to make his move. A strange wind blew through the trees and they creaked ominously. The girl seemed disturbed by this, and soon, the being made its strike. "Die now!" It shouted, clawed hands outstretched as it jumped out of the tree towards the girl. For a moment her eyes betrayed fear, and then, a smirk and suddenly the male found a swift fist making contact with his face. He was flung backwards in surprise and was stunned for a moment. A moment too long for another swift punch to the face left him sprawling at the base of the tree. A mistake he was not intending to make again. "You!" He shouted and moved to sit up, unfortunately, the tree he had fallen into had other plans. It soon wrapped around his legs and arms, eating him. He struggled, but his body was small and no match for an old tree of mirkwood. And so he was doomed to be eaten by a tree. That was it. Everything went dark. That was the end of-

"Hey, wait. It's a kid." And there was light again. The tree relinquished enough of its hold on the boy to allow his face to poke through, though, it really was quite perturbed at not being able to eat him. The woman walked up to him and got right up into his face, examining him at close range, avoiding the boy when he snapped at her. Her nose wrinkled and she backed away, fanning her face. "Eeew, you smell." She recognized the scent of rotting human flesh. That was all something he'd certainly heard before. He just made a hissing sound in reply. The woman backed up a step and shook a finger at him. "You know, you probably shouldn't announce that you're about to kill someone right as you jump on them." "Shut up! Gryah!" The boy struggled again, this time with an unexpected strength, broke through the roots with his right arm, and ripped the roots off of his left with his now free arm. Then suddenly he felt himself flung back against the tree by some strange invisible force and grabbed by it again. He gasped for breath as it was nearly choking him. His arms outstretched, the tree regained control of his limbs as he gazed at the girl whose hand was outstretched and hand slightly clenched as if she were choking air.

"W-What a-are you?" "Don't do that again, if you can help it. I'm not supposed to kill a person." This seemed to catch the creature by surprise. "... P-Person?..." It took him a moment to realize what the word was, as he was not the greatest at human tongues. He eventually figured out that it was associated with him. The invisible chokehold was released as the witch's, as that's what he assumed she was, hand went back to her side. The boy gasped for breath relieved, but his relief was soon, again, returned to anger and a glare at the woman who began talking. "Yes. I'm not sure why. But my mother says so. Though if you're a flesh eater..." The woman trailed off and got quiet, thinking on the fate of the person she held in front of her. He'd been in this situation many times before and he simply looked rebelliously and unrepentantly to the side. The lady followed him, moving to the side until again the boy was forced to look at her. He glared harder and thrust his head in the opposite direction. She followed him, again coming in his line of sight. She seemed curious. "What are you looking at?..." He hissed at her. "What are you?" The girl asked, just to be angrily talked at again. "What does it matter?" "It doesn't." This seemed to catch the creature off guard, again. It didn't matter what he was? "I just want to know what to call you." The dark creature looked away again, but upon remembering that this was not an effective way of avoiding the annoying woman, rolled its eyes in frustration. "The elves who held me last called me Bruimornhen." Something about the caused the girl to laugh greatly, and she even fell back on the ground, sitting. The creature became enraged again.

"Shut up! Stop laughing at me! If I had the use of my arms, I would rip your throat out and devour it!" The girl, still smiling and recovering from laughter stood up, wiping her eyes. "It's a good thing you don't have use of your arms then, the attempt would very well kill you." "It would be worth it to strip that ugly grin off of your face!" He said, then ran towards the girl again, pouncing, claws extended.

Unfortunately, once again, the creature found itself yanked back by some invisible force at the mere twitch of the woman's hand. She was quiet for a moment, and looked on at the creature. Her eyes were narrow, but not judgmental, or pity, or anger, or annoyance. Well, annoyance would come later. "You're different... different than the others..." The creature just growled and jumped back retreating beyond her view... However, the trees told her, he had not gone far. She was still being hunted. This would persist for the next several days, through the weeks, and lasted well over a month. The creature learned fast to avoid the mother of the witch girl. She carried sharp objects most of the time and would cause irreparable damage, not having the same morbid curiosity as her daughter did towards him. Stalking the girl, his desire to kill her grew increasingly, but it soon became obvious that hiding himself was useless and wasted too much energy, so he took to following her by foot, and watching her from a distance. The woman confounded him, and she had a tendency to talk to him all the time... and eventually, he started talking back to her...

"Are you an orc?" "Hah... Figures... That's all you humans ever see..." That seemed to humble the girl a bit, and the creature thought about attacking her then when her guard was down, but he'd tried that one too many times to want to try it again... "Well... I'm not a human..." She said, and that humbled the creature. "... Well... What are you then?..." There was a long pause. "... I don't know..." She replied honestly, so the creature reciprocated. "... Neither do I." Another long pause before the girl looked up, decidedly. "I guess, I'm just a Saura." Saura said. The creature boy looked over to her, then lowered his head. "Then what am I?" "Meldir." Saura said, decidedly. "A what?" "It's not really a very good name but, it will be good enough for now, and people will treat you better if you tell them that." "What... What is it?..." "A friend." It translated from elvish that way. And so, that stuck, from then on, his name was Meldir, and from then on, he started to act like it. Really, once a person is well fed, feels safe, and is decently educated and integrated into society, that solves most of their problems. Over a thousand years, Saura had managed to solve the rest.


	2. Chapter 1: The Watcher that Sleeps

Howdy there, and first off, thanks for taking interest in chapter one! You might consider taking a peak at the prologue if you haven't already. This is my first chapter, not counting the prologue, I have posted here on the site, so let me know how I am doing and if you see any errors or just weird things. As always, let me know how much you like it, or don't like it, I'm always glad to hear.

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**Chapter 1**

The Watcher that Sleeps

The trees in the forest were covered in the cool dew of the spring. The flowers were just beginning to pop out of the snow here, while, in other places, they must have already been in full bloom. They spotted the landscape, clumps of greens and reds and purples amidst a field of white and brown. The air was thin, up so high, but it was pure, and smelled of moss, and nettles. What little life grew up here, was strong, and old, and clung to life, knowing it to be a precious gift, not owned by right, but earned. My mother, lived by this rule. But her life was coming to an end, and her grip was waning. And I longed to frolic in the fields, and to watch the trees grow, and animals talk to one another. But matters more pressing held my attention.

"... Do you need more ice?..." I asked the frail looking creature in my mother's bed. The woman looked over to me weakly. Her eyes were glazed over. She could no longer see, but somehow, she recognized my voice and a small smile came to her lips. "Saura?... Is... it dark out already?" She could not even see the lights and shadows anymore, so I did not bother to shake my head. "No... It is but late morning still... The ice?..." The old woman's smile faded and she closed her eyes in some form of dismay or disapproval. "You should be studying... With Radagast, like you do every morning..."

"I don't want to. He's old, and smelly, and all the trees speak harshly to me when I visit..." This was a lie, for the most part. I would have liked much to leave this house of death to learn from the old wizard. He had much to teach, and I was anxious to learn. I had natural talent as a magician. But the trees did dislike me, or, treated me with a great deal of disdain and mistrust. It had taken several hundreds of years before they eventually warmed up to me, and the generations that I myself had tended to helped to plead my case. Now the creatures of the forest felt me like one of their own, most of the time.

"And... I am less old and smelly?" The woman retorted. She hadn't been able to bathe herself for months, nor get out of bed in weeks. I could not deny it was troublesome to take care of her. My mother was no elf, but I did not believe her to be a human either, for she had spent an age at my side, and only now, were her powers beginning to wane. Whatever magic extended her life, it was spent. She looked so old, and I?... I was but a mere twenty looking young woman. Ever young, taking care of this, decrepit creature.

Thoughts like that pervaded my mind, but the woman raised me, and I was obligated to stand by her side and care for her, even if I did not understand why. If I was in this state, I would like for someone to give me the same courtesies, but I did not understand how doing these things for her, would make someone do them for me in the future. The woman had little more to offer me. It could be considered a form of thanks for raising me, but what need do the dead have for thanks? Against my own desires, I stood by her though, because it was something I was supposed to do, even if I did not know why... Like many things I did not know, I did it because it was what she referred to as, when more lucid, 'the right thing to do'. But I did them, mainly because she said so... and he said so...

Forsaking the ice, which was easily acquired in these cold regions, I spoke plainly to her. "... I suppose not... But you would say, 'It's the right thing to do'... And scold me if I did not do it, were you someone else." The woman laughed weakly, but it turned into a cough. "That I would... Still... You are young still and full of health... I would like it if you went down and saw Radagast and told him of my illness's status and... you should go to the town and see that... that boy of yours... I won't be around much longer and... Someone should... look after you..." These words disturbed me. For many years it had been just my mother, and I, and while I doubted it would last forever, to hear her say it, was unnerving. She was giving in.

This boy she spoke of was one who resided in the small town at the base of the mountain, near the forests of Mirkwood. For supplies I was sent to the place, and, upon finding the company pleasant, would often return there between my lessons with the brown wizard, Radagast. The town, is a haven place, nearly as old as I was, or older perhaps. A hamlet, for those to escape from their lives in search of one less full of strife. It was filled with creatures who belonged to no alliance. A town of orphans and outcasts, Halflings, dwarves, and elves, men, rangers, even creatures ill repute could find some haven there for a price. I found the boy there, when he was a small lad, and he became my favorite, for, when I was with him, my visage remained my own.

It should be noted that the things Radagast taught me did never come easily to me, but were eventually learned through perseverance. My mother's home held small tracts of land, but enough for four, or five to live comfortably, and I made sure the crops grew and were happy, despite the cold of climate. Money was sometimes needed, however, or things I could not grow or craft myself, and to obtain these things, I used my powers, in place of Radagast, to help the villages with their crops, or animals that were ill or unhappy. I could banish weeds, or cure illnesses with herbs, for, after 3000 years, I had become a master at my craft... Unfortunately, not all illnesses could be cured.

What did come easily to me, was the change of my features, my face, and my appearance. Through my own training I learned to do such things at my whim, but it has not been completely of my control. My mother said that I changed my appearance to be whatever was most pleasing to the person who looked upon me at the time, a trick I inherited from my father, of whom she did not speak much. I could only assume that he bewitched her in this fashion, for she was very beautiful in her youth, but ever the believer in chastity. (To see her suggest my alliance with a man was strangely out of character for her.) There was one time I was myself, and that was when I was alone. I was given a mirror once, when I visited a friend of Radagast, the Lady Galadriel, who rivaled my own beauty. It was there for the first time I saw myself, for who I was when I was alone. I looked at myself for many hours in my spare time, until I memorized my own face. I found, I was the most beautiful then. But perhaps, it was what I saw myself as, that I looked like that... The boy I mentioned, was the only one who saw my face, as I saw it when I was alone, and it was with him, that I found, I could speak plainly, and be myself as I am when I am alone.

He knew not of his heritage, but he looked to be that of a man, or an elf, or perhaps something more sinister, as his hair and skin was darker than any creature of the light. Mirkwood held many strange beasts. Wolves and worgen, Vampires and spiders, orcs and the like. He was weaker and frailer than that of an elf, and seemed to shirk the light and things that most elves adored. But he was more beautiful than any human man I had ever seen when he became older. He caught up to me quickly in age, reaching my own in but about two hundred years, and there he remained for a thousand, aging with me. For that I was happy, and cared little if it was through sinister means, or natural ones. For my visage was my own when I was with him, and I, for my part, was happy when I was with him.

"Radagast has been missing for several weeks... the trees have not told me of his return. He heads with great urgency to some forsaken land of which I do not know... He leaves at an extremely inconvenient time... If he was here he-" "If he was here..." She interrupted me. "... He would be watching me die, the same as you are... Perhaps this is best... But I... I still worry. You're not ready... You're still so young." "I'm three thousand years old. I have learned to walk by now. All by myself." She closed her eyes and I withdrew slightly. I should not have been so harsh with her. "I'm sorry my daughter... But I have reasons to worry... reasons you cannot understand..." I sighed... She was simply being a mother... An over protective one, as always. Had I met the boy I had come to adore when he was older, she would still hold the greatest of suspicion towards him. But as it stood, he was like my cousin or brother, a child whom grew up to care greatly for me, and came to love me not through lust but through time well spent.

"On the desk... I have written a letter... give one to Radagast. And the other to the boy... Go today... If you can..." "I-" "Please... I can take care of myself for a day or two... I'm feeling quite a lot better..." She was lying, but I could not argue with her like this... And if I were to be around this house of death for too long, I surely would go mad. I set up supplies beside her, so she could have food, and a bowl for washing her face. I took the letters she had ordered me to. She had fallen asleep after our discussion, and I stayed a moment to look on her face. It was old, and wrinkled, a husk of a human shell... But I remembered it for the beautiful strong woman it had once been. Black ebony hair, and dark eyes to match. Fair skin that did not burn, but shined in the sun, delicate hands, but they held the strength of a fighter, though long unused for those purposes. A soft voice that could calm the very wrath of Eru... When I would return, I feared, she would no longer be there... And I believe this was her intent in asking for my departure. She could not bear for me to watch her die, and I could not bear to watch her either. The memories of her greatness, I wished them to be the memories I had of her... not of this...

And so I left that place, and set forth to the east, down the Misty Mountains and towards the Western edges of Mirkwood in search of Radagast, and the boy I had come to call my friend.

The trees whispered to me as I went along, and they spoke of going ons and hurried me forwards. It was an odd thing for them to do, as they often barred my way. But Radagast was nowhere, yet, so they had no reason to separate me from their friend. I found some reason in their haste, for, a shadow had crept into the sky, and seemed to surround the mountains that were my home. I looked upon them with some amount of horror. Some storm had come to the mountaintops, and I could hear the earth, crying, and crumbling as some unnatural power darkened the skies. My mountains were indeed active recently. A great influx of dwarves had come to the city the past few months, from mines within the mountains, they spoke of horrors and evils, ones that would be forgotten in the tiny hamlet where I was headed again. But the trees whispered of other things, things that gave me even more reason to hurry... On the wind, I thought I heard voices, not of trees or animals, but words of power, that rang through my ears... I sensed this storm, was not a natural one... but one with a purpose...

The trip down was easy, for it was mostly downhill, and my horse was strong, and I but a light load to carry. Little barred my way, even the trees saw fit to hide their roots as to not disturb the path of my steed. It was not until night that I arrived in the town, and my reasons for worry increased. There was fire in the village. Fires with purpose. Burning torches, and a large pyre in the center. Not becoming of a hidden village. I wore a black cloak, as I did well to hide myself from all eyes. I had a tendency to attract unwanted attention from all those that set eye on me. For when I drew close to those who were weak of mind, my visage changed to that of their greatest desires. I had had many suitors in my time, and it had caused much trouble in the past and so, my mother and I lived far away from any village, and even the one village we frequented was far away from any other form of civilization. This was good, and bad... for it kept us relatively safe, but it was hard to avoid the people I disliked in the one place I could frequent.

At last, I entered the town, quietly, and saw many people running about. Shouting and waving their fires with strange delight and rage. From the bits and pieces I heard from the citizens, it was the deal with the mountain, and the unnatural storm. Some witcraft I assumed. The missing of Radagast was mentioned, and the disappearance of- "Saura!" I turned my head at the sound of my name, and for a moment, I withdrew my hood, to better see in the night and confirm the suspicions of the man who shouted my name. Indeed it was a man. My hair was a deep red color, and my eyes a light green in contrast. I knew this man. A human, who had fallen in lust with me, like so many others tended to. "... What commotion is this? I have not seen the village in such an uproar in an age..." the man was quiet for a moment as if he had seen a ghost. "You're alive..." I dismounted my horse and tied it up at the spot I tended to when I came. I brushed a lock of hair behind my ear, and this action seemed to cause the man I spoke with to draw closer to me. "... Should I be otherwise?..." He remained quiet for a moment. "...The man you're always with, the shady one who lives near the forest... Radagast disappeared, then you did not return for weeks, and then this storm drew near, and he had not shown his face for days-" He needn't finish his sentence. My eyes that had been light green for a time grew dark and an amber color, to match my fear and rage. "... What have you done?" "I did... I didn't do anything... I-" My voice darkened, and the very light of the flames around seemed to be sucked away. "What... have you done?"

I ran through the town, the cape of my robe whipping behind me. The stones of the buildings told me the way, and I met the mob at the town center. The dwarves especially were finding great pleasure in whatever was occurring, and then I spotted him, with his back to the fire, and his front to an angry mob. He had been attacked, so far as I could tell. His clothes were scorched, and he held his side like there was some grave injury there, and seemed to be favoring one leg over the other. His eyes remained emotionless, however, and he had no fear of these people, which only seemed to fuel their rage. "You have worked your evil magic! Driven the good tree tender from the forest! Vampire you have stolen the life from the fair maidens here! Saura, whom you so befriended, has not shown her face in weeks! No word from her! Now you call fourth a storm, and creatures of your kind! Within the mines! And you claim to know nothing!" There were other accusations tossed at him, of him bewitching the maidens of the village. I watched for a moment. Once I heard enough, I made my way to the center.

"You offer no excuse, and she has disappeared without notice!" "And she returns in the same fashion." He spoke at last, when our eyes made contact. For one moment, they were my own eyes, until the eyes of the others dropped upon me. I closed them, and again, my hood was withdrawn to reveal my hair, a lovely dirty blond color. Curls draped down my shoulders, and my eyes, a dark blue. I was fair looking, and of perfect figure and stature. He laughed lightly, though it caused him great pain. "Aheh... Being your friend... is a hazard to my existence it seems..." I found nothing funny about the situation, and my face showed that. "... I understand that there are a great many new members in this village now, and that they may not know the rules or courtesies that have been imposed here for generations... But I would ask that you all refrain from hurting my friend... Radagast's disappearance is of his own will, as the trees have told me. As for me, if you must know... My mother is dying, and will be dead, by the end of the week. I have spent these past weeks with her. I come here, with her last wishes, and a letter addressed to the very man you were attempting to question and murder..." All were quiet when I spoke, another affect of my appearance, I guessed. People always listened to my words, though sometimes my powers were too great for my own good.

I went to him then, swiftly, for he was about to fall. The heat, or perhaps the light, of the fire was hurting him. The crowd was incredibly quiet, and I could feel their shame, but it was masked by jealousy, for I held that man in my arms, and not them. The heat of the bonfire scorched even my own fair flesh. I set him down lightly on the ground, and it was then that I stood and did something else that came naturally to me. I extended my hands to the fire and thrust them forwards, whispering words of power of languages long forgotten. The fire rose, and thinned and then imploded into itself in a flash of light. It was gone. A display of my power, and my rage. "Put out the other fires... And disperse..." I demanded. And they complied.

I stood in the square for a long while, watching the people leave, keeping and eye on them, like ants. Once they were all gone, my attention turned again towards the boy I had left on the ground. I walked over to him and knelt down beside him before I began inspecting the damage. "... You're going to have some bruises for awhile..." "I know..." "You have two broken ribs." "I know." He said, and raised his eyebrows lightly, looking at me strangely. I looked back at him and smiled lightly. "Your leg-" "I know, Saura." I lowered my head and laughed lightly. "I'm sorry. Any injuries you have incurred, I'm sure you know about them already." "Well, it is my body." The last of the mob had gone away, and my hair began to darken and the curls flatten into small waves. Even my eyes returned to my normal amber orange coloring. My skin was a pale color, like that of the snowy peaks on the mountainside, like it had never seen the light of day. Like a sheltered princess. I sighed in relief at being alone. "I can fix most of them-" "I know-" "I know! I'm just..." "It's not what you want to say... so don't say it." He was right. I was just speaking, to keep the silence away. It was my fault this had all happened to him. I leave my dying mother, to come and find my lover, nearly dead himself. I wanted to say these things to him, but I was finding it hard this day. He seemed to understand, and broke the silence.

"You said... you had a letter from your mother?..." I lifted my head and nodded. "That's right." I withdrew the piece of paper from within the confines of my dress and handed it to him. "... I'll look at it when we get to my place." I would have raised an eyebrow at him, being so presumptuous as to assume I would accompany him back to his home for the evening. But it was only logical. He was injured, and I would fear to leave him in the inn in the city, least of all after the display I had seen tonight. I withdrew from my pack a number of herbs, and balms before I found the right ones, and I rubbed them on some of the injuries. He winced at the open wounds, and let out air through gritted teeth. We did not speak much, but we rarely needed to. After a thousand years, you needn't speak much to each other to know one's meaning. I could tell by the way he held himself, or tilted his head or strummed his fingers against a given surface. I could tell by the way he looked at me, and the tone of his voice, and the sound of his breathing, and he could do the same.

Once he was well enough to walk, I took him to retrieve my horse, where the man from earlier was waiting. My hair that was dark black lightened slightly to a dark red and my eyes turned to a light brown color, a form that was between the one I took with my boy, and this man here. He perked up seeing me. "Saura! You are back, I... I watched over your horse, I wasn't sure if-... ah, he's... okay... too... So you found him in time..." "I did... People were jumping to conclusions... I'm taking him back to his home tonight and will stay there, until he has recovered from his injuries." The man looked shocked and his eyes looked at us with disapproval. "A woman like yourself should not be spending the night at some man's house-" "If he were not injured this night, I would have stayed in the inn, like I planned. But since no one saw fit to stop this madness, I feel I am obligated to stay with him, and trust no other, as all this was partially because of me..." I said. The man continued to protest but I had said my piece, and I saw no more reason to defend my actions.

However, my coldness seemed to only enrage him, and as most humans are, he was quick to act on this rage. He pulled my friend from off the horse and held him up by the collar of his shirt. "Not with this Dark Skin! I won't have it! I've stood by and watch his corruption for far too long! Her hair is darker! Her skin paler when with you! Don't think I don't notice! You're sucking the life out of her! She's the most beautiful when she's with me! I am where she belongs!" He threw a fist at him, and another, before I managed to grab a hold of his arm and cling to him with all the weight of my small body. "Stop it! Please don't fight!" My grip distracted him from my friend, but I took the attention upon myself instead and he looked at me with fire in his eyes. He made to strike me but I could feel the fire welling up in me. I cursed it, and called it, and his fists of rage, did not hit me, but instead, grabbed a hold of my wrists. He accosted me harshly. "You are a stupid girl! To choose this, this... Thing! This monster over me!" I was quiet, but my eyes looked up at him frightened like. His rage was still in him, but he couldn't, and he wouldn't hurt me, so instead, he kissed me. What else could he do? And then there was a whack, and a thud as the man fell to the ground unconscious. My friend stood behind him with a wooden club and looked down at the heap of a man on the ground. I wiped the taint from my mouth and nodded at him. "... Thanks..." "It's annoying, once they get like that... It'd be easier if we just killed them you know..." He said. That caused me to flinch and I stared at him for a long moment before I looked away embarrassed and ashamed. But he recanted. "... Well, it's been a trying day and everyone is on edge... That's probably it..." He said that, but we both knew better. This happened often. Every man I spent an extended amount of time with... Humans were the worst. I had amazing control over them, but at a cost...

The walk to his home would be a long one. He lived on the outskirts of the village, nearest to the forest of Mirkwood, as I was nearest to the mountains. Opposite sides of the area, yet we met in the middle, generally. I led him on foot, as he rode on my horse. He offered to walk, or to share the horse, but I denied him that. Perhaps it was punishment for his suggestion from earlier. The truth of the matter was that, we both thought like that. Killing them would be easier. But it was wrong. I wasn't entirely sure why. Even after three thousand years. But I accepted it. These were the rules. "... What if you end up like him?..." I asked. My friend perked up, for, he had been drifting off on the horse. "... The man?... I don't know... All these years, it hasn't happened yet. I haven't ever once tried to possess you..." "Oh?" "Well... not like that." It caused both of us to smile somewhat. We remembered the first time we met...

Perhaps I should go into some more detail on my powers. Few men have ever struck me to harm, for passively, my body molds itself into an illusion of their greatest desires, and all of their being wishes for me not to be harmed. But in return, they desire the possession of me. My mother was wise to keep my so far away from civilization. Only this one small town is where I find refuge. Many of the beings that live their are of mixed races. I have found the elven kind to be the most resistant to my magics, and the mortal men, to be the least. I cause them malady of the mind, over a period of time, often leading to their self destruction. Radagast, a very old wizard, seems all but immune to my powers, and treats me more like a favorite daughter than some thing to be lusted after. And then there is this boy... From the moment we met, I knew he was special... Likely because, he kept trying to kill me...

"Besides," He continued. "That was a long time ago." And he was right... it was a long time ago.

A few hours later, the house came into sight. The horse slowed to a stop and I put a hand on Meldir's shoulder to rouse him. "Are you alive?" "What?..." The sleepy Meldir asked, being roused from his uncomfortable slumber. That was all she needed so I said no more. "We've arrived." I announced. We approached the large house that Meldir occupied. It was, in fact, inside of the forest a ways, somewhere the humans and other villagers were loathe to enter, and it offered the strange looking man some protection. It was a rather rough house, made mostly out of dead trees, and live growing ones that I had talked into helping hold the place up for him to live in. Mud was used between the cracks to hold the thing together, and a large layer of grasses, ferns, and moss had made a very green exterior to it that made it blend even more into the forest. There were two levels to it, though from a distance it didn't look like it. One traveled downwards a few steps to enter the house's first layer, so really, it only appeared a layer and a half high. Despite how rudimentary the abode sounded, Meldir had had a thousand years make his home. Between the trees growing taller, and him scavenging off of dead trees and other items, for chopping down a live tree in these woods was a serious offense to the trees, he had managed to create quite the home for himself, and was large enough more than enough to fit two people comfortably.

I tied up the horse by one of the trees before helping my friend down. He was unable to make the mot graceful of dismounts, but with help he managed to do it unharmed. He leaned against the horse, for support while I unloaded some of the saddle bags, slinging the packages over my shoulder. Meldir offered to help, but it was more out of required learned etiquette that he did so. I reminded him that I could carry the bags just fine, but I couldn't carry him, and that if he wanted to help, he should concentrate on walking. This made him chuckle, nothing he hadn't heard before though. We walked down the steps and moved the animal skin that acted like a doorway aside, to enter the home.

The interior, despite the earthy exterior, was incredibly clean. Partially because of myself. The floors were stone tiles, and the walls, polished wood. The end and dining tables were made of stumps and roots of trees, likewise polished to a shine and clean, ready to be eaten or sat on. Some of the chairs had leather cushions, and there were a few fur rugs on the floor, to prevent cold feet in the morning. All were courtesy of Meldir's skill as a huntsman. Something he had greatly improved upon since our first meeting.

A fireplace was in the far end of the house, though very well contained between large stone slabs. Getting the approval for that was an interesting ordeal of which still amuses me to this day. All of his furniture had a very natural look to it, though important pieces, like a bed, and blankets, he had received from myself, or gained himself from the town. It took me many years, but I had eventually managed to save up enough feathers to make him some down pillows. Meldir said he liked them, they smelled like chicken, and always made him hungry. He still said it to this day, even though I was quite sure the chicken smell would have left by now, and been replaced with his own scent, another thing that had improved since their meeting.

After setting the bags down, that's right where I led him; to the bed. Sitting him down, I then moved to the fireplace, tossing two logs onto the fire pit and saying a few words, as flames grew around the wood, consuming them, bathing the house in light, and warmth. Meldir watched me from his spot on the bed with mild interest. He always liked watching my work.

Dust drifted off my hands as I clapped them together. I hadn't been down in awhile, so he probably hadn't felt the need to dust or clean the fireplace out. No matter, I would attend to that soon enough, but other things took priority. Like Meldir. I turned to face him and we stood inspecting each other for a long while. I looked at his wounds, and he looked at mine... though, I will admit, mine were far more difficult to see, and far less physical, though ran far deeper than his. I was the first one to move, unable to hold his gaze for much longer, which, was a sign of how bad things were for me. Even if my mother were not on her death bed, the incident today at the village had stuck me hard. "Saura-" "I'm going to unpack. Then I should change your bandages and reapply the ointments. I can do a better job now that we're in your home, and settled down." There was a silence, but eventually he spoke again. "Yes." He said simply. Both him and I knew, this busy work, was only me distracting myself, not wanting to talk about the day. That would come later, when we were all calmed down.

This calming down took longer than Meldir expected, but he waited patiently as I ran about the house, putting things away, like I was going to be staying awhile. He could have mentioned that, when I left, I would have had to just grab them all again and waste time that way, but, that was my intention as well, and he knew that. I had no desire to go back to that house of death just yet, for when I did, it would be to bury my mother. He did, however, draw the line when I made to start washing the floors.

"Would you get over here, so I can get some sleep. Your wandering disturbs me to no end." I paused rag in hand, and laughed lightly, setting the thing down and removing the apron. The medicines were all set up close to him, so I needn't bother dragging them out again. I sat at the side of the bed and made a motion with my hand. "Shirt. Off." I ordered him. He was slightly hesitant, and considered arguing with me, but, knowing the mood I was in, he didn't bother, and instead began to unbutton his shirt. His hesitancy to declothe himself had nothing to do with shyness. No, we were far beyond that point, after all these centuries together. It was more so, I figured, that that's where most of the damage had been done. My suspicions were confirmed, when the shirt was unbuttoned, and removed. Though they hadn't yet formed into bruises, I was aware of the raw flesh and the cuts that would soon develop into them. I sighed deeply... "Lets have a look at you. Flip over."

"No, really, I-oookay then." He attempted to stop me, but too late. I crawled over the top of him and sat on him after he rolled over to lay on his stomach. I straddled him, placing my weight where it wouldn't hurt to him, and rubbed my hands along his back. I leaned over, starting on his left side and ran my hands up, feeling along his flesh and muscles, reaching out with my powers, as well as my sense of touch to inspect the damage.

"You were lucky." I said quietly. Though I wasn't referring to his injuries. So far as they were concerned, he had been quite badly beaten. "I knew you would scold me." He said, and hissed in, lightly, as I touched an unusually sore spot. I applied an ointment to the spot and he let out the breath more slowly before continuing. "Besides. They were the lucky ones..." My hands continued to massage the bruises as best I could, washing his back with a clean wash towel, running water over the scrapes, freeing them from dirt, sweat, and grime. The warmth of my hands was unnatural but loosened the muscles, and helped the blood flow, to carry away the dead and dying flesh and blood. "Not so upset as if you had been killed..." We continued our talk with censored words.

"I guess, I was lucky then." What we were talking about, was his blood rage. Like the orcs, which we could only assume held part of his heritage, he was able to fly into a rage, forgetting all fatigue, pain, and fear. Mindless rage and murder, yet, with a precision and skill and finesse that could match that of any elf or man. He was incredibly deadly. However, without this blood rage, he was weak, and vulnerable. Still, he withheld it, and instead, refused to retaliate at all. He had come a long way from that man eating boy I first knew.

"Turn over... let me see your front." There was a small groan of discontent, but he did it anyways. I seated myself lower on his abdomen, atop his hips, and was gentle. A many of his injuries were in the abdomen and stomach region. Damn, he was quite a mess. Though, even a few minutes of my treatment so soon after receiving the injuries would help him heal faster.

He lay there, obediently, eyes never drifting away from my own, though my attention was directed at his injuries. He made no move to touch me, nor did his eyes drift towards by bent over chest as I started my work. He was the model of self control, though there were signs he couldn't control that reminded us both of how much his body yearned for my own. I found pleasure in exacting these reactions out of him, in teasing him in this way. At first, it frustrated, and angered him to no end, until he got to know me better, and realized the effect I had on people. On men. He learned that, every time he ignored my advances, and didn't look at me with lust, meant more to me than the most romantic of gestures... He was refreshing, and the fact I knew he wanted to be with me, but made no move on me, is what made him my Meldir. And he was rewarded for it.

"Ah! Damn, woman! Yes, it hurts there too!" He muttered as my hands drifted over a great many of his injuries, but I silenced him as I leaned forwards, kissing his lips. That done, I retracted a bit and hovered above him, my black hair flowing down off of my shoulder and shadowing his face from the flames across the room, like a dark curtain. He raised an eyebrow at me, curious as to what I was up to. I thought my intentions were clear enough, and I had granted him permission to take action, however, I assumed the signal had been lost somewhere, so I leaned in again, only to have him turn his head to the side at the last instance, and I kissed his cheek instead. "You're crying..." He said, explaining himself. Indeed I was. And shaking too. I hadn't even noticed it, that must have been why he raised his eyebrow. How I had not crumbled on top of him was beyond me. So I let myself down onto him, gently, avoiding his injuries, and nuzzled my head between his neck and shoulder. He, at last, made an action, and wrapped his arms around me, consoling me, as I sobbed in his arms.

"Please... Don't... don't be my Meldir tonight... Please... Be my Melethron*..." I begged of him. There was a large intake of breath from him, his chest rising, and was released in a large sigh. I could feel his heart race faster, and all his body seemed to ache at once. "Lets see... What your mother wrote to me..." This was his way of saying no to me, without saying no, or, his way of saying, not right now. Besides, he was injured in far too many places. In my time of distress, I would have easily succumbed to him, if he so chose to take advantage of the situation. However, he knew, in the morning, there would be that regret, and that guilt. After thousands of years of living with my abilities, my concept of affection was warped, and while I was so impassive to it, I was also, so easily hurt by it. Often the things we pretend not to care about, are the things we care about the most... "I miss her..." "I know..." "I know..."

I picked myself up, wiping my eyes, and dismounted him. He did much the same, picking himself up to a sitting position. I located the letter quickly, as I had put it away in one of the drawers myself as a prior distraction. I offered it to him, and sat myself at the end of the bed, waiting for him to read through it. His eyes narrowed a few times, and I found myself rather curious as to what he was reading. Normally his face gave rather little emotion. "Burn this." "What?" I asked in reply, standing up suddenly. "If you love your mother, and if you love me. You will burn it." I flinched and blinked a couple of times, but I took the letter from him and threw it into the flames as requested. I looked back at him and saw him pinching the bridge of his nose, deep in thought.

"Meldir-" "Please... just... give me a moment." His hand raised to signal silence. I waited by his bed for many a minute, but he remained unmoving, so I stood up, and decided to prepare some tea before bed time. I heard a sigh, and Meldir leaned against the bed frame. "... What did it say?." "She wants me to watch after you..." "But?..." "... But she doesn't want you to have any children." "What? But- how-?" "She suggested, I be castrated." I clapped my hands over my mouth, to stifle a laugh, but it came out anyways, long and hard. I ended up having to sit down, I was crying so hard. Meldir looked at me very seriously. "It's not funny!" "No- no! Of course no- pffft hahahaha!" He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips, clearly unhappy with me, but, he had managed to make me smile in my time of sorrow and despair, and that brightened him up considerably as he forced a chuckle himself. "Heh... We'll... figure something out..." I was still laughing slightly, holding my stomach. "Hehe. Mother has turned into a prude in her old age." "She's always been that way." Meldir retorted, but there was something behind his eyes, something dark, that he wasn't telling me. I spotted it for a brief second, and then it was gone. It made me nervous. He rarely hid anything from me, and even more rarely did he do it well.

"I'm tired..." "I was making some tea for you-" "No, that's fine, I think I should just go to sleep. It's been a long day. Too much more excitement I won't be moving for days..." I stood and took the pot off of the fire. "Okay..." I poured the water out over the flames and they died down into nothing, with a little help from my powers. The house was dark, but I knew where everything was. When the pot was placed away safely, I made my way over to his bed and after dressing into my sleeping clothes, crawled in with him. I felt him fidgeting a bit to get comfortable as I wrapped my arms around him, laying beside him. In reality, I think that's all I wanted... that physical contact; to hold onto something... something that wasn't dying... Someone that would be there in the morning... I wanted to hold him, and not let go, and protect him, like I couldn't my mother...

Meanwhile, back at Saura's house, her mother was taking the last gasps of breath. Soon now, she would die... take her final sleep. "S-Saura... I... I wish... I could have lasted... long enough for him to be here... I'm sorry I... I've caused so much... so much trouble for you... But I cannot survive this coming darkness... It grows too powerful for me... I bring... so much trouble to you... So much trouble... darkness... comes to find you..." The woman drifted off into unconsciousness, and from that... she would not wake...

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*Meldir means friend, Melethron mean Male Lover


	3. Chapter 2: The Honest that Lie

Hey there, ho there, and first off, thanks for taking enough interest in the story to be here reading chapter two and putting up with my lousy ability to make author notes. Not sure much what to say her. Well you're getting introduced to the major plot point this time around. Yay plot! As always, I'm new to the site, still learning how things work, but feel free to leave me notes and tell me what you think so far.

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**Chapter 2**

The Honest that Lie

I don't remember the dreams I had had that night, all I knew was that they were bathed in fire, and destruction, and I awoke suddenly, sitting up straight in bed. The dream world vanished, but the heat inside of me raged on. I awoke Meldir, and he turned over in time to see me fall out of bed, writhing in pain. He jumped up soon after and was at my side, hands on my shoulders.

"Saura, Saura!" I heard him over the ringing in my ears, the screaming, my own and, also not. I could feel it, radiating out and around me, the power... coming from somewhere... it burned, it was too much. My body felt like it was about to explode, like it couldn't hold it all. The energy started to flicked out of my body in the form of fire, licking the ground, and snapping at Meldir who got near to me. Not wanting to have his house, or anything, burn down, he braved the flames and picked me up, running quickly outside, blowing through the front door and he did the only thing he could think of; he jumped into the cistern.

Water didn't come from nowhere in Mirkwood, so having a fresh supply stored up was a good idea. Shame that we had to taint it with our presence, but options were few. Still. even underwater, the flames continued to lick out of my flesh, trying to escape, but were drown in the water. It relieved my pain, and the shock of the cool water woke me up, and calmed me down... And also kept me from breathing. I gurgled, struggling for breath, and was relieved when Meldir brought us up above surface. We both stood there, in the water, for a long time, catching our breath. Her held me close to him, a hand cradling the back of my head, leaning against his chest. I was shaking, in shock. I didn't know what happened... Meldir was the first to move, and break out of the shocked trance we had gotten ourselves into. He backed up enough to look at me, but kept a hold of my arms, lest I should fall over.

"Are you alright?" His voice shook ever so slightly, likely from being jolted awake, burned, running, then jumping into a vat of cold water. I swallowed hard, my throat dry, it was hard to do so, but I nodded and responded, just as shakily. "Yes. Yes, I am." Meldir sighed in relief and let his head hang down. I knew what he would be asking next, so I headed him off.

"I don't know... I heard voices, screaming, and then, inside of me... My magic swelled up, I couldn't stop it or contain it. It found holes in my flesh and poured out of me." He continued to look at me then his eyes widened.

"-All over my floor!" He said and let go, hopping out of the cistern and running back to look at the house. "AH! Saura! A little help would be appreciated!" I wasn't sure what he was asking at first and then my eyes widened with realization.

"Oh my gosh!" I picked myself up, though, moved a great deal slower, considering how wet wool dresses and whatnot are very heavy. Eventually I made it to his door and found him trying to pat down the fiery spots in the house. I extended my hand to use my magic and a strong force expelled out of it, extinguishing the flames instantly, but knocking back Meldir, and myself.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, falling, Meldir echoing my exclamation. He picked himself up, then went to do the same for me, but I waved a hand at him, signaling I wished to stay seated for a moment. "It's never come that easily to me." Meldir paused, and then, sat down beside me. "Your mother is dead then..." I flinched and looked at him... He wasn't telling me something, again. "... What did the letter say?" I asked.

Patiently I waited, apparently I had asked the right question, for he remained silent for a long time, I was about to ask him again, when the trees began to whisper. They had been all anxious since the events, but now they were loud and talking to me. I paid attention, my head turning from side to side, for the voice of the forests move with the wind.

"Radagast has returned. He comes this way with great haste and urgency." I said, and then Meldir stood, relieved. "Redress yourself in something dry, quickly then. I care not to have him come across us in this state." Though I knew he was only using this as a distraction, he was also right. It wouldn't be practical to run around in wet clothes, and if she knew Radagast, he would have her running around as soon as he came and fetched her.

"What does he want?" I asked Meldir, shouting from inside. "What makes you think I would know?" he asked, avoiding the question. "The letter." I replied simply. I knew he was rolling his eyes at me. "That does not mean I know everything, simply because I read a letter." Fair enough, I supposed, but I was still upset. I looked over at some of the belongings, and spotted the letter to Radagast... the urge was there... just a peek... I reached for it with my hand and picked it up, flipping it over inspecting the thing.

"Radagast has one too." "He what- no!" I heard him rush in, something that took me by surprise, and I quickly pulled closed the only thing I had on, was the wet nightgown that I always wore as an extra layer beneath my Evening dress. The letter must really say something important. "Get out!" "Give it here first!"

"No! Get out! It's mine! Oh no-AH!" I soon found myself being tackled to the floor atop the singed fur rug of some unfortunate beast, wrestling with my dark skinned friend. Honestly, I didn't expecting to engage him, so he had the advantage, grabbing my wrists straight away and relieved the letter from me by grabbing it with his teeth. He made the mistake of being smug in that instance, so with the aid of my powers I easily overthrew him. He yelped, surprised, and in doing so, released the letter. I sat up and swiped it out of the air.

"HAH!" I exclaimed, winning, but my victory was short lived, as he decided to invoke my one and only weakness. Tickling. As far as non-lethal submission goes, this was really the best way to go about it. Neither of us wanted to hurt each other. I writhed, and tried my best to stop him and still hold onto the letter, but to no avail, despite all of my shouting and protesting, he tickled it away from me and grabbed a hold of it, sitting atop me victorious as I continued to wiggle, getting the tickles out of my system.

"Foul orc! Your true colors have shown themselves at last! Unhand her!" Meldir barely had time to turn his head in dismay before he was assaulted receiving a staff to the face, knocking him back against the wall. Hearing my cries for help, and seeing the state we were in, I wriggling about, nothing but a loosened bathrobe about me, both of us drenched, though I don't pretend to know what that would insinuate. Regardless, it was indeed quite suspect. I sprang to action quickly, shouting for him to soothe his misplaced wrath as I went to the aid of my friend. Radagast pointed at the two of us with his gnarled staff.

"I don't know what you two were doing here, but I don't like it! Dress yourself and come with me this instant! Why, once your mother finds out about this-" The man rambled too much, but it gave me time to attend to my friend. I coddled him, and looked at his eye. Oh damn... it would be black and bruised tomorrow, though you wouldn't likely be able to tell. Damn, the old fool, jumping to conclusions. Though, I appreciated the thought. His appearances had saved me a time or two. Still, I couldn't have him getting ahead of himself, or we would never get to explain the situation, so I cut him off.

"She's dead, Radagast." This seemed to stop him in his tracks, his eyes widened and his pupils shrank. He was silent, so I continued, picking up the letter that had fallen to the floor and offering it up. "She gave me these letters for you, and Meldir... I-" But this time, Meldir was the one to cut me off, swiping the letter out of my hand, somewhat hostile-like. He was upset, just being whacked in the eye could do that.

"I'll explain. Outside. You get dressed, and actually do it this time." He stood up, rubbing his eye still and walked out, being followed by the still shocked wizard. I sighed deeply, but obeyed him now. He had won this round. I dressed myself in a black dress. For mourning. I had indeed, packed myself for preparation. It was long and flowy, but exposed my shoulders and collarbone. It was risky, considering my abilities, but I didn't feel like I would be around people I didn't trust at this particular time, and if I was traveling I would likely wear my hooded cloak.

All of the things that happened today swirled about in my head... everything was happening so fast... It felt like something had been thrust into motion, that one event, far away, caused all of these things in my life to be dislodged... The influx of refugees from Moria, likely making all of the townspeople somewhat nervous and upset, especially their talk of goblins and trolls, it was no wonder their mistrust of Meldir caused them to harm him. This storm above the mountain, the disappearance of Radagast, directly coinciding with the death of my mother, this strange flux of power... Would the letter have explained all this? No, I was putting too much faith in that letter... But something was happening... something, beyond the lands of this village... I could feel it, a swelling of... of something, though I couldn't explain why... Once I was done, and had managed to clean myself up enough, drying my hair as best I could, and then went outside.

The two men looked at me and stopped talking, like when you walk into a conversation where people were just talking about you. Well, that was probably the case. Radagast spoke up first.

"Saura, I have something to tell you." He started, taking a step towards me, but Meldir grabbed his arm stopping him, shooting him a warning glare. Radagast did the same, though his glare was riddled with disgust. Radagast never was able to forgive Meldir for his heritage, or the havoc 'his people' caused on the forests.

"Unhand me. Do you not think she deserves to know?" Radagast asked, gesturing towards me with his staff. Meldir's face softened when he looked at me, but he did not let go of the old wizard. "... of course I do... But I'm willing to follow the old woman's wishes until they prove to be too hazardous to do so. I think she deserves that much respect from us. What she did was very brave-"

"What she did was very stupid!" Radagast cut Meldir off. Whatever he meant by that threw Meldir into tizzy, as he swung his head around at the old man, glaring deeply, his eyes, changing. I remember feeling a sense of dread, and prayed the old man would not open his mouth again. With no such luck. "She put the entire of Middle Earth at risk! If I were her, I would have destroyed the thing the moment it was-"

"Don't you dare!" The thought was not even completed before Meldir's cry. My friend's eyes flashed and his hand swiped at the old wizard, raking across his chest, tearing through clothing and flesh with a blade that had come from-... Well I won't pretend to know where Meldir keeps these things. The wizard shouted and retreated a pace, but he was so caught off guard, and when Meldir was like this, being off guard was a death sentence. He came to him again, in a flash and slashed at the man's arm, bringing the small blade up in front of him. The wizard managed to evade this, but the forward slash upwards was only a distraction, as the downwards pull was meant to implant itself into the wizard's neck.

Oh for the love of Eru. "MELDIR!" I shouted at him to stop, it only managed to distract him for a split second, his eyes, focusing on me instead of on his target, and this distraction was enough to let Radagast counter him and save himself. With a twitch of his wrist and a swing of his staff, Meldir was flung backwards against a tree. The tree itself moved swiftly to devour him, but Meldir recovered too quickly, his rage and desire to kill the man driving him forward with pure adrenaline. Damn, he wasn't stopping this time, something must have really upset him. Radagast, swiped his staff in front of him, throwing out Meldir's legs, all the roots trying to trip him up. They managed to relieve him of his dagger, but he kept coming, his hands ready to claw or strangle the man to death.

Damn it all. I ran towards them. Radagast was aware now and had drawn his own sword and gripped it. One of them was going to die if this kept up, so I threw myself between them, facing the oncoming Meldir. He pounced, but found his target barred by me. This did not soothe his rage, even seeing my face. I braced myself as he came down, his claws gripping my upper arms, and he bit into my shoulder with his teeth. I winced in pain, but stood there. I could hear him, deep guttural growls coming from him, but he didn't move any more. I talked to him calmly.

"There... There... See? Everything's alright. I won't let him hurt you." I said this and moved my arms as much as he would let me to wrap around and hug his sides. Blood tricked down my back, and across my chest, and some, too, from the corner's of Meldir's mouth. Despite being trained to not eat people, he was still, by nature, a flesh eater. His teeth were pointed, and sharp, and made for tearing through flesh. The smell of blood in the air seemed to calm him some, the taste as well.

To come out of that state, without drawing blood, would have proven difficult. I could feel his heart racing, his muscles twitching with the tension, bulging, wishing to tear and rip and maim. But eventually his rage driven trembling came to a stop and his grip on my arm slackened, his muscles relaxed, and at last, his teeth withdrew themselves from my shoulder. He stumbled backwards a bit, exhausted from the blast of adrenaline, now he had to put up with the fatigue. Meldir wiped the blood off of his face with his wet sleeve, pretending he didn't like the taste. His eyes avoided mine at all cost. He had let himself lose control.

I turned my back on him, to attend to Radagast. "Return your sword, he will no longer attack you... Were you injured." The wizard eyed the man behind me with mistrust and disgust, but obeyed my wishes. "No..." He replied. "He got me once with the knife, but it is little more than a flesh wound. My cloak took more damage than I di-" "Good." I said, not wishing to hear about his cloak. I retreated a pace, facing both me, though looking at neither of them.

"Might we continue this conversation in a more civilized manner?" There was grumbling from the old wizard, and only humbled silence from Meldir, who had taken a seat on a rock, his legs pulled up off of the ground, as if he was afraid to taint the very earth with the presence of them. He was pouting. I put a hand on my shoulder. The wound's were not very deep, and it appeared that I healed fast, and did not have the ability to scar, so the injuries were of no consequence, besides the hurt I would feel from them for a day or two. Radagast was the first to speak up again.

"It is already too late! The darkness comes already! It has infected Moria, it is nearly at our front door! Besides this, it stirs in Mordor. He is making his move now. His minions are everywhere, searching. I left to give warning to my superiors, thinking she would hold out until my return, I made much haste, but if she is dead, and this, this flux of power you spoke of, I fear they may already know. Would you rather she find out know when she is already in their clutches? Already being used?"

Meldir finally spoke up against Radagast, shouting out passionately. "I wouldn't let that happen!" He insisted. Still, Radagast continued. "But, it will! You cannot fight all the forces of darkness by yourself!..." Meldir was humbled again and he retreated further onto his rock. "Do what you will..."

Radagast wasted no time. "Saura, your mother, she was of the Numenor, a race preceding the Dunedain. Your father was once of the Valar, or, perhaps a Maiar." There was some form of hope in my eyes. Both of these... races... were familiar to me, one, a once grand race of people that fought against evil, though, was destroyed by corruption from within. The Valar, were, like Radagast and the other wizards, great beings of power that worked for the forces of good. A thought occurred to me, perhaps Radagast was my father!

"Wait... you said... WAS..." I questioned. From the corner of my eye, I saw Meldir's head lower and he hid his face as Radagast continued.

"Your father gave into corruption. His body was destroyed an age ago, we all thought him dead, but it appears, his soul has survived, an he has regained his power-"

"Stop, please." I knew this story.

"- he was once known as Mairon."

"No..."

"Gorthaur"

"Stop it!" With every name he took a step closed to me, and I a step back.

"Annatar, Artano.-" I looked up at him pleadingly.

"Please!"

"-But you will most know him as Sauron. Dark Lord of Mordor, the Necromancer of Dol Guldur." I cried out in pain at hearing this and crumbled to the ground sobbing and crying out.

"With some delicacy!" Cried out Meldir as he finally got off his rock and made his way toward us. "We have no time for delicacy!" Radagast extended a hand towards my sobbing body but I slapped it away. "Get away from me!" I shouted, and turned tail and fled. "Saura! Saura!" My teacher shouted, trying to get me to come back, to no avail.

Meldir arrived next to Radagast, picking up his dagger on the way, and placing it back in its holster. He crossed his arms as I disappeared into the forest, but neither made chase right now. "Now look what you've done old man. You've spooked her." Meldir accused him and the old man stammered to explain himself. "But I-"

"This is precisely what I wanted to avoid!" Meldir pursed his lips and muttered looking out into the darkness. Radagast rubbed the back of his neck. He obviously, even after all these years, knew so little about women. Trees and birds and animals, sure, but women was one mystery he never could solve.

"I'll tell the trees to stop her-" "That won't help. After what I saw, she could burn down all of Mirkwood with a blink!" The trees rustled unsettled and Meldir recanted. "S-She won't! She could, but she won't." They settled, but were still on edge.

Radagast took to pacing as he talked, upset at being so helpless at this unnecessary distraction. "We don't have time for this, I'll take a horse and retrieve he-" "No, you will not. You've bungled things and the last person she is going to want to talk to, is the one who wished she had been killed at birth." Meldir said, causing Radagast to stop and turn to look at the darkling.

"Are these her sentiments or yours?..." Meldir did not look at him as he grumbled. "Humph... I'll bring her back..." "Do make haste then. We have no time!" Meldir started forwards and shouted back at the man when he said that. "Stop saying that! Go... plant a tree or something! I'll get back when I get back."

I ran and ran and ran, sobbing uncontrollably, the roots moving out of my way as I ran, but eventually, a wayward rock tripped me up and I went sputtering into the dirt. My fists clenched at the dirt, mulch, and dead leaves, crumbling them as I sobbed. I did not pick myself up again. Dirt clung to my still damp hair, and I was finding myself gasping for air at times I was crying so hard. The trees and animals tried to whisper sweet consoling words to me, but most were unaware of the truth of the matter, and I told myself they would not say those things if they knew. The world seemed to have came crashing down on me. My father... the lord of darkness... and I, Saura, abomination... So many things made sense, but I thought of none of them, I was so filled with misery.

So filled, that I did not even notice the approach of my friend until he was nearly on top of me. "... Why are you crying?" He asked, and I lifted my head, looking up at him through blurry, tear ridden eyes. "Do you not know?..." I asked him, harshly. What a stupid question he had asked.

"... I think I should know a thing or two, about cursed heritage... Yet I am not without hope, or without good quality. To see you despair, should I not as well?" I looked up at him and blinked, my lips quivering, unable to hold a frown, or a closed mouth. I gulped air, and hiccupped, then pushed myself into his arms where he gladly accepted me. He held me tightly, breathing in my scent and I did the same, staying like that for a long while until I could speak again. I withdrew from him far enough so I could lean my forehead against his own.

"I don't want to have to think about this. I don't want to think about anything." I said, and kissed him. He did not dodge me this time, or turn his head to the side, instead, he kissed me back. I needed that... to feel loved, by someone who knew the truth. But that was as far as he took it. "... Then I will talk, about nothing, and you can just listen... Come, I'll carry you back..." He offered and turned around, still kneeling, so I could climb up on his back. I accepted the offer, though my sadness had returned some. I clambered up to him, hiking up my dress enough to get my legs around either side of him. This wasn't very lady like of me, but it was a chance to grace him with my flesh, and, really, there was no one there to see us or disapprove.

We walked awhile, in silence. Meldir was having a tough time picking a subject. He would start talking about one thing, but somehow, it always ended up connecting back to something that reminded me of bad happenings... Eventually, I decided to throw him a bone. "Are we alone, Meldir?..." I asked him. "What?... Um... Yes, I don't smell anyone." I was quiet for a moment.

"... What do I look like?..." I wasn't looking at him, but I could tell he was smiling, wishing he had thought of that himself. "Well... Lets see... your hair is long, and black, like the night sky when clear of stars. It's soft, and smooth at the same time. You have very nice legs, long and slender, perfect proportion, and these tiny little ankles that like to trip you up over everything. I know the forest is always so hard at work making sure you have a flat surface to walk on. Your skin is pale, white, like a princess. Delicate, and smooth, unhindered by skin splotches or pocks. Though, you have a few freckles lining you lower back, and a few crawled their way up to your shoulder. And you have a mole, right on your upper left thigh." This caused a gasp from me as I wiggled around. "HUH? I do not!"

"Yup, it's right there! You never noticed it? Oh it's huge. I think there's a mole, growing on top of the mole!" "I do not! You liar! Let me go I want to see it!" He laughed greatly at my dismay and my blushing and wiggling about. He had done that on purpose, teasing me. It forced a smile on my face and eventually I calmed down, realizing he really was just kidding. I rested my head on his shoulder. "Well... you have a thin nose that curves up and curves up and rounds off nicely, thin eyebrows, but long dark eyelashes that accentuate your golden amber colored eyes, rimmed with red like-" He trailed off and my face fell. "... like eyes, wreathed in fire?... Like my father-" "No... Like your eyes." He said, sternly.

"... I would change nothing about you. Not where you came from, not what you look like-" Then with a smile. "-not even that mole on your thigh... Because all of that, is what make you who you are..." He paused a moment and his head lowered slightly, trying hard not to swallow these next words. "It makes you my *Meldis... and my Melethril." The tears found themselves pouring out of my eyes again, though, for a different reason, as I held my friend tightly, laying my head against him affectionately.

Eventually we returned to the familiar outcropping around Meldir's home, and saw the brown wizard pacing, grass growing tall around the line he had made. "FINALLY! It took you long eon-" "Shut up!" Meldir shouted at Radagast as he set me down on a rock.

"Choose your words carefully from now on when you speak, or next time when I retrieve her, I will not be bringing her back to you." The threat was there, and serious, and though Radagast scoffed at Meldir, he took note of it, and did choose his words more carefully.

"... There are riders... Nine of them, once kings of men... the Nazgul. Your mother, Saura, with all of her strength, was able to hide you power and your existence from the eye, and his minions... But she has passed, and I was not able to return here soon enough... That... that flare of magic, was the release of the suppressing binding of your mother, breaking... It could be enough to summon the Nazgul for you... The ring of power, has emerged from hiding, and Sauron is making a move to retrieve it. My fear, my greatest fear, is that he will retrieve it, and you, under his powerful influence, will rule at his side... or, should he possess you, through his spirit, create himself an avatar through your body... I cannot let that happen."

Meldir shot a warning look at the brown wizard but he waved his hand. He meant no harm towards me. If he wanted to, he would have done it long ago. "I am taking her to the elves." "No." Came the flat out response from Meldir. That made Radagast blink. "And what objection do you have now, Darkling-" "I don't like elves." Came another flat out response. "And where do YOU, get off being racist?" I decided to explain better before there was another fight. "It's more that, elves don't like him... The elves and goblins have quite the history between them, as you should well know, and-... Well Meldir has his own history with them..." "He burn their forest, or eat some of their females-" "I told you to watch your words old man!" "Meldir! Would the two of you, just stop it! I don't want any more fighting..." That quieted them down a bit, and I looked at Meldir, telling him to continue the story in my stead. After all, it was his own. If he didn't want me to go to the elves, he had to come up with a better reason than, 'I don't like elves.'

"My first memory was in an orc encampment in the tunnels. I worked alongside human captives and Elven captives, as a slave. I was just a boy, but I lasted longer in the caves than surface dwellers... It was like that for the first part of my life. I learned what I could from Orcish, though their language is crude, and useless to even themselves outside of their holes, and I picked up enough from human and elf speech from the captives enough to watch my back and threaten those wanting to harm me... A generation passed like this, until a group of elves came, to liberate a recent group of Elvish captives. All the orcs were killed, but me. I was merely a child, and since I was enslaved alongside the others, they assumed I was from some other clan, or runt, or breed, of orcs, or some bastard child created from a past Elvish captive, something completely unheard of."

"In their... kindness... they spared my life, and the lives of a number of other orcs. Most were tortured, to begin with, then killed, or enslaved until death, though I was spared the blunt of it, for I lasted longer in the sun then my 'brethren' did. It is still uncomfortable for me even now... At first I was treated with morbid curiosity, but eventually I was treated like the rest of the orcs, enslaved, tortured, spat at, called names... My knowledge of elvish language did not extend far past the profane... Until I ran away, escaping into Mirkwood where I scavenged until, she, learned me better." Meldir paused in his story.

"I will not return to those, 'lighter skinned' orcs..." This happening, it should be noted, was a long time ago, and Meldir's opinion of them only seemed to worsen over the years as he got to know them. Part of it was of his past, he witnessed the cruelty of the elves in the treatment of him, as well as, perhaps, a jealousy of sorts. Radagast had heard this story, or, bits and pieces of it before.

"Would you have her stay with the orcs then? She would be eaten, or taken to their master himself. Or to humans? Would she far better there? They are weak minded, and weak bodied. I would take her, to my brother, Saurumon the White. In his tower, a wizard of the highest power and reputation, she would find protection. But now, we need supplies, and the ability to get there, and protection. The elves, are the best chance she has to be kept from Sauron." Radagast crossed his arms, waiting for a retort that did not come. He was right, and Meldir knew this.

Despite Meldir's hatred of the elf kind, and, well, any kind really, he held many of their traditions and tendencies. This was especially true when considering his affections towards me, that, despite being very... comfortable... with each other, he had patiently waited for, and, only receiving in her dying words, the approval of my mother. I wondered, as well, if he was also waiting for the approval of myself. For I could receive any man I ever dreamed of, so by waiting, he offered me that opportunity to change my mind. Being immortal, or, so near to it, sexuality, in general, is reserved for the creation of children, rather than a form of entertainment, and is treated with great respect in the cultures of long lived beings. It should be noted that, as far as elves are concerned, they will kill themselves before being raped or forced into sex against their will, which, bears to question, if Meldir has any elf in him at all, and how it could have gotten there. There were rumors of a race of orc beings, man-orcs and orc-men that were of men and orc half breed, and Meldir, somewhat, fit into this category, but something was always a bit off with him. A mystery.

"Take the horse, and go there with her... I will stay behind..." "Meldir, no-" "I... will catch up with you, and part ways before arriving in their territory... I will see this, 'white wizard'. If he is so wise as you speak of, warn him of my coming, and I will be welcome there, and judge if it is a safe enough place to keep her... If you indeed, believe trouble will follow her, someone must stay behind, and at least attempt to warn the citizens... And I would like it, if someone were there, to give your mother a proper burial." Meldir's words and actions were making up somewhat for his beastly behavior earlier. Radagast was forced to acknowledge this with a nod.

"I will be riding fast..." Radagast said.

"Not fast enough." Meldir replied.

I looked at the two, they seemed to be sizing each other up again... Men... "Saura's things are inside the home, and I have supplies as well. Take what you need. I doubt we will be returning here for a long time." Meldir suggested to Radagast, who was glad to have something to do that would help proceedings and bring them closer to departure. Meldir waited for Radagast to leave, before his attentions, again turned towards me.

He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. I understood and pulled him closer to me, cradling his head in my arms, brushing back his thin, soft black hair. I knew it was hard for him to remember these things, and I cooed at him, sweet calming words and kissed the top of his head. "You did well..." He hugged me back rested his forehead against mine.

"... When this is over... When... your safe... If you still want to... I would take you, as my hervess*..." My heart leapt at that, and I smiled at him, all beat up and mangled, after a very long day, his dark skin, his thin wiry black hair and his pointed teeth, my own blood still dried in patches on his lips, wet, dirty, and still the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I felt better then, than I had all night.

He took my hand, and placed in my palm, a simple ring. It was of a smooth stone, not fancy or ornate, not made of any fine metal or embroidered with designs or diamonds or other rare gems. He seemed, rather embarrassed really, even showing it to me.

"You don't... have to wear it... if you don't want to..." "No no! No, it's perfect..." I replied, and hastily put it on, which seemed to relieve him. My whole life I was treated like a shiny object, something to be possessed, but by Meldir, I was treated like a normal person, and it was our time spent, and the meaning of being together, that gave our relationship and our love worth...

"Get some sleep on the road, when you can. You'll have all the time in the world to feel sorry for yourself and worry about me when you're safe with the elves. And put a bandage on that shoulder, I don't want people to... suspect things." He said, and touched my cheek, warily. Such contact he would normally forbid himself, but, having accepted the proposal, the gates had been opened somewhat.

"I'm going to go now... I'm sure Radagast is bound and determined not to have me see you again before you get to the Elven place, and that suits me just fine. If I can't find or catch you, then the enemy shouldn't either." Again he, warily, leaned in and kissed my cheek, causing me to smile. Even after all these years, committing such a simple show of affection could throw him into a tizzy or embarrass him and made him magnificently nervous. I wondered how much my mother had to do with that. Having a warrior nun as a mother, the queen of enforced chastity, was enough to scare his dark skin white sometimes. He would still look over his shoulder for many years later, expecting her judgmental eyes to be there watching him, waiting for him to screw up or try something inappropriate.

And with that, he was gone. He didn't say goodbye, he hated that word. Far too absolute and oxymoronic. No bye was good. Radagast returned from the house soon after and placed the saddle bags on his horse, and a pair on mine, talking to them in their own tongue, and then to me, as if I needed some translation. "We ride until the horses tire, and rest then, just enough until they are not anymore, do you understand?" He asked me.

"I can understand just fine, teacher... You are not so incompetent as to have not taught me anything." The old man laughed, in a cheerier mood, now that my friend had left, and, I assumed, it was a relief to know that my mother would be taken care of, and the villagers warned. Radagast had a great sense of urgency, and would have forsaken all of the things Meldir thought so important, in order to keep me safe. I suppose, I should appreciate that. It was not long after, that I was on the road, looking back at the fading little house in the dark forest of Mirkwood. One day, we would return there, but I had no idea, how long away that one day would be.

* * *

*Meldis means Female friend, and Melethril means female lover in Elvish.

*Hervess means wife in Elvish


End file.
